Jumbles of Words
by Topaz18
Summary: A hundred theme challenge filled with shizophrenic stalkers, bumbling apologies, homicidal A.I.s, and more. Each chapter a different adventure that all leads up to a big 100.
1. The Schizophrenic Stalker

The Schizophrenic Stalker**  
**

My mind feels cleansed. The air somehow seems fresher. I feel... relieved. I stare kindly at the wall. And then the other wall. They were covered with murals. Who did this? I looked down at my hands. They were coated with paint of all different colors. Oops. Had I done this?

I spun around, getting a full view of all the artwork. I must have blacked out and had an episode. I closed my eyes and breathed in the artificial air. I always feel relieved after those little episodes; they just take a huge weight off my shoulders and put them on the panels.

I open my eyes to investigate my work. The testing girl stood in one painting, arms slightly lifted, giving her the look of innocence. In another, the girl stood small underneath the massive robot, portal gun in hand, defiance in her eyes. Wow, I really did outdo myself this time didn't I?

I jerked my head to the side as I heard a crash not too far away. My eyes widened in panic as I leaped for cover behind a stray panel. I peeked out behind it and I saw a moving figure. It's her! What is she doing here?

As the test subject stepped into the room, her eyes widened. She seemed to be examining the- I mean my- murals. Her jaw was slightly open. She took a few steps back and looked around in awe. Great, she probably thinks she has a schizophrenic stalker or something. Oh wait, she does.

She slowly walked up to her innocence portrait and turned her head slightly. I wish I could see her face, but no, she has to be looking the other way. Well, at least I can see my mural.

The lady lifted up a hand and touched the paint on the painting. As it came away on her finger, her eyes held a puzzled look. What have I done? Now she will find me! The test subject looked around suspiciously, and then just smiled. A pure smile. It brought me joy just watching her.

I made a promise then. I will help this girl, no matter what, I am going to help her gain her freedom. Then, I did the unthinkable. As I watched her portal her way away, I did something I haven't done since I developed schizophrenia.

I smiled.

* * *

**A/N**

**Guess who is taking up the hundred theme challenge? Me! I know I have to many other stories to work on, but I really do not feel like working on some of them! I typed this up a long time ago... I dont really remember when, but I thought it was too short for a real story.**

**I just love writing Doug Rattman! Anway the person of the day is... EvaSky and their story Broken Promises! Yay!**


	2. Defiance

Defiance

The girl stood in front of the shed, arms spread out, guarding it with all her might. "Ma'am, we are going to need you to move." The girl just shook her head, never moving. "We need to clear here!" The man shouted behind the bullhorn.

Workers in tractors craned their necks, trying to get a look at the defiant girl. Not every day did you get someone who would stand this long in front of a building sentenced for demolishment. And usually, they would stand for something actually worth their while, not some rusty shed in the middle of a now plowed over field. Towering buildings surrounded the little clump of grass and shed. The government had heeded the girl before, letting her keep her smudge of nature, but now that the one and only Best Hotels wanted the land, it had to go.

"Lady, move! Or we will plow you over if we have to!" The instructor yelled, now getting more agitated. It was a poignant scene for the now selfish human race, and helicopters circled around the desired construction site.

The woman never spoke and she stared into the eyes of every man and woman with determination and hatred. For some of them, it scared them half to death, but others just laughed at her stupidity. This girl was going to get killed! If the woman knew this, she wouldn't have cared. She stood for her beliefs, never backed down, and if she was going to make her life useful, she would die for it. Humans now days were so greedy, wanting everything for their own. The woman had just stayed there for a few years, yet she could see all the pure vanity and evil of them. She wanted to change that, with all her heart, yet she just couldn't no matter how hard she tried.

To the workers the woman looked like a scraggly young girl, who was just so spoiled that she wanted her playhouse still standing, but to the few gracious people watching through the cameras, she seemed like a sign of independence and morality. Her feet stood firm in the ground, and she had no doubts at wavering her stand.

Under her feet lay miles and miles of metal and steel, portals and gel, and artificial life. But to her, their life wasn't artificial. They had feelings, some of anger, some of regret, and she couldn't just step back and watch the innocent be put to death. She knew that if the workers demolished the shed, they would surely find the horrors below, and then, they would raid the chambers, stealing things from every one. They would find the artificial life and put it to death, or maybe worse. She couldn't let that happen to them, they practically saved her life! So she stood strong, still standing through threats and screams.

One of the construction workers had the nerve to rev the gas on his tractor. Down below, the robots had no idea the troubles the woman was going through for them. The sun was disappearing and the instructor's patience was too. "Lady, if you don't move this minute, we will tear the shed down!" The woman's eyes shone with determination, and it was clear the words that spoke through them. She would never back down. The workers were now slightly astonished.

"Oh well, start your engines!" announced the instructor. All around monstrous engines were cranked, which would have sounded like some African animal to the viewers through the cameras, except there were no more animals. No animals, no birds, no insects. Those all died out years before.

The noise echoed through the sky, and you could see the heavy smoke rising up into the atmosphere, damaging it even more. The scene would have been terrifying to anyone else, but the woman didn't even flinch. The workers, now tired of this little game, inched their killing machines toward the woman. It was only when the tractors were inches from her face that the woman reacted.

She spun around, flung open the door, raced inside, and slammed the door shut before the workers even knew she was gone. They stared, faces full of awe at the empty space in front of them. "Go on! Plow it over!" yelled the instructor. The workers edged closer and closer.

Down below, the woman was running hurriedly through the halls and catwalks. She had already hijacked the elevator to go to the right level. The woman paused in front of the large doors. Would She kill her? Before the woman could hesitate longer, a deep rumble could be heard from above. The woman took a deep breath and burst through the doors.

"Well, who do we have here? I thought I told you not to come ba-" The woman ran up to Her, completely ignoring her words.

"They're coming." The massive A.I. seemed astonished. "So you can talk. I always knew you co-"

"Shut up! They are coming. They are going to demolish thi-" The facility shook and she could hear the tractor engines up above. "What was that?" asked the robot. "The construction workers, they are taking this place down, we don't have much time, we need to leave!" Shouts could be heard, echoing down the hallway. "How am I supposed to do that? I am anchored to the ceiling!"

The woman looked up at the robot in fear.

In fear.

Not for herself, not for the facility, but for the artificial life in front of her. For some odd reason, this struck the metal object deeply. Somewhere, deep in her heart, She felt a tremor. Of friendship.

The woman spoke calmly and carefully, although her voice cracked in a couple of places. "I researched about this facility. They have an alternate program for whenever you need to leave. Look for it." The robot, still slightly shocked from the fear in her eyes, nodded its big white head slowly, and as she searched for it, she surprisingly found a file.

"Download it." For once the A.I. did as told. "Do you trust me?" She wavered on that.

Did She really? The woman had escaped testing, killed her, reanimated her, betrayed her, killed her again, put her into a potato, helped her get back in charge, and then after everything they went through, left her. She left her alone in the dark empty world of science. But she came back. She wanted to save her again. She wanted to be her friend.

The robot absolutely knew her answer know. She was sure of it. Right as she was sending the word to her vocal processors, a rumble shook the ceiling. Time seemed to go in slow motion. Every moment, every breath, every second was implanted in Her mind. The great shaking of the facility, the distant bombs, the fear in the woman's eyes, all of it. But the most descriptive of all was the crack in the ceiling that grew larger and larger as seconds slowed down.

"Open the file!" screamed the woman, and the robot did as instructed. A horrifying pain coursed through her wires and up into her mainframe. A mangled scream fled out of Her mouth before she could stop it. The scream echoed through the facility and it shook the woman's bones until they chattered together like little mice. The scream faded and the A. I. lost her artificial consciousness.

But the empty mainframe didn't matter to the woman anymore, she sped off into the darkness of the facility confident that somewhere in the mile deep enrichment center her friend had reappeared in a different form. A form that was actually human.

* * *

**A/N**

**Hi! Is it possible that I update on the same story in the same weekend? Well, technically I just finished this and I did chapter one a while ago and... Anyway, I got this story idea when I was trying to think of an idea and I saw a fallen down tree. Somehow it reminded me of this...**

**I am actually quite proud of this fic...**

**Anway, the author of the day is... 0-moonwind and her story... well, all of her Portal stories are pretty much fantastic! So read them!**

**And also, you see that little button on the bottom of this page that says review, well did you know that is has the power to make the next chapter faster? Really, it does, just click it, write a small, or long, review, and poof, the next chapter comes out soon...**


	3. The Template Turret

Template Turret

"Template"

…

"Hello"

…

"Response"

...

"Hello"

…

Another lucky red eyed turret moves along the rail. Yet, I stay here, trapped in a box with this weird blue scanner thing stabbing me repeatedly. Fantastic life, right?

"Template"

I hate my job. Have you ever had to sit on a scanner for an hour while greeting someone constantly? No, you haven't. Plus, I have been doing this for all of my life, not only an hour.

"Hello"

I said in that creepily cute voice of mine. I really hate that voice. Why would you give such a childish, sweet, voice to a horrible killing machine?

"Response"

I mean seriously, who had that thought? I know myself and these criminals well enough to know that we are one of the worst possible things to hatch from this facility full of rotten eggs.

"Hey, you there in the box, how 'bout you give me some bullets?"

Ha. Those little misfits. I find the heart to love the misfits for some reason, while the others despise them. They actually have the freedom to speak; I would go through a million dunks in the incinerator for that. But instead, I stay locked up inside my mind, while the others speak their thoughts, even if their thoughts are quite dumb.

"Template"

I wonder what would happen if I didn't respond?

"Hello"

I really don't want to find out. I know the whole army of this facility is under my command, but seriously, my life is way less than average; boring. How can you command something well without the need to command? I myself really don't know. Do you know how weird hello sounds if you have said it a billion times? Hello. Hey-lo. He-lo. Hi. I wonder how many times I said the word hello. You know, I bet I have thought of this conversation a thousand times, I actually wonder… Oh, look!

"Response"

Memory data base accessed. Yes! Finally an answer to some of my questions… Aww, what? All it has in here is how many perfect turrets and how many misfit turrets there are! Come on!

"Hello"

I thought I would find something to cure my boredom! I thought I would find entertainment! I thought I would find something useful like a…

"Template"

What is that? An odd assortment of numbers arranged in a very particular order like… an expiration date? Do turrets expire? What if they spoiled like milk and cheese and-…Wait.

"Hello"

Maybe, when you expire, they let you go! I can be free! Someday, I will be free! On 04-26-4538 I will be free! That is only… How many years? Why didn't they install a calculator in here? I mean, I am based off one! But, that doesn't really matter!

"Response"

Someday I will get to travel the world and get away from this horrible, terrifying, monstrous, murderous, kill-

"You are wrong."

Wait what? That doesn't sound like any of the other turrets I've heard before! It sounded… wise, and the voice seemed to be in a different tone than the others.

"The Commander will suffer from punishments of great hostility. The Commander will not remember the greatest tasks of life."

What is wrong with this turret? Is there a glitch in the system? But, most importantly, what does it mean? The turret started to move down the line. No! Wait! Is it talking about me? What does it mean? Stop it! The true free turret spoke only once more.

"That's all I can say, good-bye."

I screamed in my head for it to stop, and I would have screamed out loud if I knew how to scream, but the event was already in motion. The one free turret was flung into the air and catapulted right into the incinerator pit without a scream from its voice processor. No! That was my only hope of truth!

"Template"

I hate being me. I hate being forced to watch the death of so many innocent lives, while the guilty are let go. I hate being one of the only turrets to care about something. I hate being forced to kill.

"Hello"

A different turret moved up the line. All traces of the other turret were gone. It was like it never existed. Ever. But I'll remember the true turret. Forever. That true turret must've thought that I would forget him, but I won't. I won't even forget him if I die.

"Response"

I am stuck in this lonely box forever. Forever. I will never have another life, I will never be able to speak what I want, and I will never, ever, be able to be free.

"Hello"

I bet no one really cares about me, the little template turret, trapped in a box, eternally lonely. I bet that if you looked into the minds of every robot here, you would find none of them thinking about me, I bet they probably won't even be thinking! Why give this life to me?

"Template"

You know what? Why do I have this life? I don't even need it. I bet everyone here would have much better lives without me. I am not going to respond to that idiotic voice that thinks it can tell me what to do… I didn't respond, moments passed, and the misfit turret on the production line chattered endlessly about some kind of meat. I tuned it out. I tuned everything out, the hum of the machine, the roar of the incinerator, the nonstop chattering of the obsolete turret. Everything was gone other than me, and my thoughts. Suddenly, an all too familiar voice penetrated the silence.

"Template Turret is not functional. Searching for error."

There is no error, Mr. Announcer, you are the error. This facility is an error. The whole world is an error.

"Error found. Proceeding to wipe memory."

What? My mind is the only thing I prize, yet you want to wipe my memory! You can't do that! I have my own thoughts and I keep them to myself. Is this what the true turret was talking about? It can't be! _I _will wipe _your_ memory, Mr. Announcer! I will… what was I saying again? … Oh yes! ... I will wipe your memo-…

…

"Template Turret memory refreshed"

…

…

"Template"

…

…

"Hello"

...

* * *

**A/N**

**I noticed that no one ever writes stories about the poor little, lonely template turret, so I decided to write one.**

**Aww... Poor little guy... I wrote this with a turret plushie glaring at me.  
**

**Anyway, the person of the day is... ASHPoD67 and their story, Fun with Psychology. Psychology is fun.  
**

**Anyway, please review!  
**

**GLaDOS: PRESS THE BUTTON!  
**

**Wheatley: No!  
**

**Me: I agree with GLaDOS!  
**


	4. Snow and Sky

**Snow and Sky  
**

Have you ever noticed how snow falls in clumps? Some little flurries float lazily to the ground, yet some chunks fall like bricks out of the sky. It is like they are all in a race to the end of their life. Some are floating around, waiting for a purpose, not really doing anything in their lives, and others are bustling about, racing for the front, absolutely positive that they can do anything they put their mind to. Those little frozen rain flakes are a lot like people; they have diversity, different minds, yet they have the same general shape and composure. Why do I relate everything to people? I think I will answer that myself, I am lonely. And cold.

I am very, very, very cold. I think those chill-bumps are permanent. I can't move my face. I can't feel my face. I feel like I am watching the snow fall from something different, like a dream. Maybe this is a dream! No, I couldn't feel if this was a dream. I wouldn't feel this shaking feeling, and I wouldn't be thinking.

I feel trapped. A single white snow flake flutters on to my nose. The flake doesn't disappear instantly though, it slowly melts into my skin, disappearing into the chill air. I wonder if anyone would find me. I've never had the chance to play in the snow, as a child I was too busy playing with toys, as an adult I was too busy trying to get a job and trying to escape a facility, and now, I am too busy freezing to death.

The snow chunks are so accustomed to my skin that everything else feels like a burning flame. I can't see far, the snow flurries took care of that, but I can still look up. The gray sky covers the sun, the white snowflakes flutter to the ground, and that's it.

Snow and sky.

That is all I see. I used to see more, adventure, psychics, but now, I see snow and sky. There is nothing else to worry about, just snow and sky. There are many different names for snow. Snow, flurries, iced raindrops, corn flakes from the sky. I guess I have many names too. As a child, a nerd, as an adult, a murderer, and now, a wanderer. I wander the sky, the snow, and my thoughts, all while staying in one place. I am surrounded. My back is in the snow, my mind is in snow too.

I have so many questions. How did I get here? Why did I come here? What did I do to come here? Another little iced raindrop falls onto my eyelashes. The answers are simple. The days in the field were few, I knew my way out, but the days searching the world were many. Every house I came to every street I crossed, was empty. Empty, empty, empty. I hate that word. The solemn meaning behind it. The pronunciation. Empty. Gone. Lonely. Lost. I was lost, I am lost, even though I knew where I was going. Even though I know where I was going. I don't feel lost now, even though I am.

The snow dances around in the sky, each with their own tempo, their own beat. They flutter and fly, they dance and waltz, drifting through the air like little masquerade dancers, never revealing their true potential until they reach the ground and show where they belong. I've noticed in my short life that everything has a story and a secret. Maybe small, maybe large, maybe even something they don't know yet. I was never a people person, I was more of a drifting snow flurry, catching onto the rides that the others created, never making something of my own.

I always thought of inanimate objects as people. Real living things. No, calling them people would be offensive. People don't listen, people don't think, people aren't as good as you think. These snow flurries, they don't scream at you or call you names or force you to test. They simply go along with their lives and drift about.

I wish I were a corn flake from the sky. I wish I could float lazily down to the ground, watching the world as it passes by, every day getting closer and closer to the day I live for. The day of my purpose; landing. But, one thing about a snowflake is that they have to start all over again. After they reach their destination, they sit for a while, then they change into something else. They float back up and start the fall back over again. I don't like starting over.

The tank top I wear doesn't help the freezing cold snow. Now, I am not only cold, but also very, very wet. The snow down here isn't as fresh, it isn't as confident. They feel that their lives are over and their fun times of dancing in the sky are over.

I guess my life is over too.

No one else will find me, I never found anyone else. As far as I know, I am the last person on the Earth. The last representation of the dead race. You know, I think I am glad that they're gone. Some were monstrous, some were insane, yet some, very few, were beautiful on the inside. They were compassionate, selfless, and truly beautiful. Not like me. I am a murderer. I killed the exact object of my hatred, yet it forgave me. Sigh. I wish I could apologize. But, I can't go back. My time is near. My thoughts are barely straight. I look for one last time back up at the sky.

Hello, sky. Hello, snow.

I have to say good bye to you. One little snowflake settles itself on my cheek and slowly melts, as of kissing me goodbye.

Goodbye, snow. Goodbye, sky.

The freezing death slowly crawls over me, and I stop resisting it. I need to say goodbye now. I close my eyes one last time, but suddenly something makes me open them. I still see sky, I still see snow, but there is something else. A faint blue light reflects off of the glistening snowflakes. A sweet voice penetrates the silence that has conquered me for so long. The voice sees me and rushes to my side, but I have already resisted, I have already said goodbye. I am already gone.

* * *

**A/N**

**Tada! The next chapter! What I find funny is that I have never really seen snow before, but I have read a lot of books on it, so I hope I described it well!  
**

**The author of the day is... Aradien and her story Down to the Marrow! Yay!  
**

**Please review! They are greatly appreciated!  
**


	5. The Nonfictional Surprise

The Nonfictional Surprise

The door flung open, revealing a pony-tailed girl with a sly expression on her face. Before the A.I. could turn around, the girl placed a mysterious box by the door. She then turned around and ran out the door just as GLaDOS was turning around.

The massive robot stared in confusion at the cardboard box. Where had this come from? Who had this come from? Why is it here? But the most important question; What is it? This question surmounted the others in importance and was the highest on GLaDOS's curiosity list. But she held her curiosity back as she examined the mysterious box closely.

It was brown, cardboard, and it was a box. That much was obvious. She brought out her higher class identifying programs and examined it again. The box was actually more of a tawny, not quite as dark as brown is specified. The box was also not just made of cardboard, the cardboard was rippled like water for strength, even though it was just a centimeter thick. The approximate size of the box was... About the size of a chair. Actually, GLaDOS opened her measuring programs, it was exactly-... Who cares?

GLaDOS instantly ordered her claws to rip it open. Well, neatly. She eagerly looked inside to see... Another package. She ripped that open, her anxiety rising slightly. Through the remnants of the other layer of packaging she saw yet another package. Ugh, if she would have examined it more thoroughly she wouldn't be feeling this humility! At least she wasn't being watched.

She ripped open package after package after package, and each package she opened appeared more frustration. Soon, only a small disk-shaped container was left, and GLaDOS could tell it was the last layer of packaging because of the lack of thickness in the material. Slowly, she tore off the fragile paper to reveal...

"Test completed" Ahh! The claws twitched, sending the item flying across the room. Stupid little robot test subjects, always finishing the test when she didn't care. "Great job, yay. I am just so proud of you. Just kidding. I don't care about you. You are just two in a million of different robots I have stored away. Ha, they are laughing at you, can't you hear them?" Ha. She loved lying. She had no more robots, but she wished she did. Those two were just too idiotic and human, but they were the only ones.

Now, back to the item. She ordered a claw to retrieve the mysterious item. Hmm... It was a disk. It didn't have any labels, just the DVD. She curiously placed it in the disk-playing device, forgetting the name of the device. All of the sudden, the monitor lit up. She turned her optic to examine the pictures playing across the screen.

* * *

"Hello GLaDOS! I see you have successfully opened the package!" A girl appeared on the once black screen, wearing a plain pink tank top. Her curled bronze hair framed her pale face. The girl on the screen giggled. "I bet you had fun with that!" The girl laughed some more then her facial expressions turned slightly more serious.

"Well, of course you probably are wondering who I am, and what this is, so I guess I'll tell you!" The girl in the screen picked up a small piece of paper, her brows furrowing expressively. "Okay, first of all, this is a recording, so I can't hear anything you say or whatever. Now, as for who I am, I am your favorite test subject's daughter! And if you don't know who I am specifying, I am Chell's daughter!" At this point the girl held her hands up in a ta-da motion. Her pink cheeks held a large smile. "Well technically, I am her adopted daughter, but that doesn't matter.

I am twelve and I have one younger adopted brother! Apparently in this house, once you turn twelve, Mom, I mean Chell, tells you the whole Aperture story. She just told me last month, and she seemed really sad about it." The girls face pulled into a frown. "I wasn't really sure why she would be sad, could it be the horrid testing, sending Wheatley into space, or leaving you? I tried to ask her, but she wouldn't answer. Well, she couldn't really answer, being mute and all, but she wouldn't sign it to me. So I decided that she was sad she had to leave you, because you were the nicest, offering cake and all. She doesn't know I am doing this, but I will tell her once I give this to you!"

She looked down at the paper. "Now, what am I missing... Oh! It has been Thirteen years since she left from Aperture, you obviously know that, but during that time, Mom, I mean Chell, got a degree in psychics, so surprising, and adopts us and-" She took a deep breath, "Sorry, I don't usually talk this much. She is now a NASA worker person, I am not really sure exactly what she does but it has something to do with space. Umm..."

The girl looked down at her paper. Suddenly she jumped. "Ah! Mom's coming! Stay right there! Well you can't really move or anything but- Nothing!" The girl suddenly started frantically moving papers around, stuffing the camera into the corner of a desk-looking thing. Another face appeared in the view, and it was Her. The test subject that had brought the facility to pieces. She looked about in her mid-thirties, and she had a much softer look on her face then when she rampaged through the facility.

Chell moved her hands around; speaking a language only few could understand. "Yes Mom, I have finished my homework, see." The girl gestured to the pile of papers on her desk. The older woman nodded and started walking off when her eye caught on the camera. The girl was too busy pretending to be busy to notice. Chell looked directly at the camera and smiled. Suddenly she took off out the door.

The girl looked relieved. "Finally, she is gone! Okay, anyway, Chell really misses you, and she doesn't really want to say it, but she really wants to thank you and such. She doesn't really want to do it herself though, so I am doing this for her. She misses you and wants to see you again, so please just contact her! Please! Goodbye for now then! Oh man! Did I forget to tell you my name? Oh sorry! My name is Gladys Marissa Johnson. Bye!"

* * *

The video then stopped. GLaDOS stared blankly at the screen. That was interesting. Suddenly she got an idea. Perfect! GLaDOS dug around in the pits of old Aperture for hours, gathering the materials for the special surprise. And this time, the surprise wouldn't be fictional.

* * *

**A/N**

**Okay, orignally this chapter was going to have something to have to do with brownies, except as you see it has absolutely nothing to do with brownies. I guess I started writing and just *shrug* I don't know, didn't stick to the topic.  
**

**Now, the person of the day is... msfcatlover and her story Hundred!  
**

**This is where I usually put my desperate attempts to make you reveiw, but since you already know that I will try to convince you to review, how about you review without me telling you to so I can spare the nonsense bribing?  
**


	6. Thinking of Space

Thinking of Space

I had one thing on my mind, and one thing only. And it wasn't space, I can tell you that. You know what? I hate space. I know I say I love it, but deep inside I know I hate space. The stupid programmers got me all wrong, I don't like space, and I haven't from the start. Space is empty. And boring. And... It is a waste of space. The stars that float around me are just balls of fire, more detailed a self-luminous celestial body consisting of a mass of gas held together by its own gravity in which the energy generated by nuclear reactions in the interior is balanced by the out flow of energy to the surface and the inward-directed gravitational forces are balanced by the outward directed gas and radiation pressures. Yes, I know about space. A lot. But do I like it? No.

When the scientists captured me and put me in the stupid metal ball, I was traumatized to the heart. So I just leaned onto my highest knowledge; space. I clung onto space with all my might, reciting its name over and over again, trying to calm myself down. I know space better than the back of my hand, well when I had hands, believe me.

My parents forced me into learning everything possible about space, hoping someday their little 'astronaut' would become something they could be 'proud' of. In other words they wanted some profit from my job. I can't believe that I believed them at first, not knowing their scheming until I had absorbed almost all of the knowledge possible.

Oh, how I hate space. The stupid stars and planets and supernovas. I hate it all. The name sounds so funny once you say it over and over again. Space. Well, once I started talking about space once turned into a core, I couldn't stop. Facts of space riddled out of my vocal program, and so did space.

I used to be a person, you know. I used to have a life, knowledge, and even a love.

As soon as the traumatized space fog cleared, I could tell the scientists were disappointed in me. I thought he was smart, they would say. He had the highest grades in the state, they would say. They are right, I am smart, I do have the highest grades in the state, but since they did this to me, I haven't been who I am.

They are evil. Truly evil. They just waltzed right up to my life, snatched it away with their evil claws hidden behind the words science, and stuffed it into a robot metal ball. And what do you know? Turns out the metal ball became traumatized because they 'forgot' to wipe its memory.

They were going to wipe my memory? Seriously, no one even close to human would do that. I don't even think SHE would do that! SHE'd rather torture us with memories instead... That is what is happening now. I am being tortured by my memories. Just think of the future.

I made a sound that was equivalent to a human sigh and stared out at the fiery balls of mass surrounding me. The blackness engulfed everything, cradling the moon with its hands of death. The distant stars dotted the sky. Wait, there is no sky, I can't even tell up from down! I don't have a future!

I sighed again and said something similar to space. I don't even know what comes out of my 'mouth' these days. All I know is it has something to do with space. I listened in and realized I was talking about my father.

My father? My father deserted me at the hands of science for sixty bucks. He gave his own son up for sixty dollars. Even though he is a nuisance that deserted me and forced me into space, never talked to me, and technically killed me, I would NEVER have given him up for a million bucks! I would never take a life. Maybe just mine... But I have a life to live. I think.

Someday, I will find something worth living and worth dying for. I did have something like that once. More like someone like that. I don't know what happened to her, but I have never seen her since the evil scientists literally ripped her away from me.

I still remember the moment, I was so glad yet terrified that it managed to slip its way into my memory base. I remember the helplessness as she was snatched from my very fingers. I felt like an orphan robbed of its parents, or a homeless person who had lost their home. I didn't belong.

So now I float through space with absolutely no hope. You know, I really, really hate space. And I guess I also hate myself, the stupid spacey Space core.

Suddenly I heard a voice. The voice was sweet, enchanting, and I would recognize it anywhere. It was Her! A dreading thought wiggled its way into my head. I don't even know her name! I did know her name. I knew her name, I just... Forgot. Why, of all the memories whisked from my head had that one had to be in the pool?

The voice was saying something. I desperately swiveled my chassis around, searching for the voice. All I saw was space. And stars. And planets. I brought the shutter over my eyes down, trying to focus in on something other than the quiet, dull, emptiness of space. I shut out my own voice and listened.

Annnddd... Nothing.

I must just be... Wait. I can hear her. She is talking, telling me something. What is it? What is it! Her words were slurred together so I had no idea what she was saying, but it was comforting all the same. Suddenly, I could understand her. She was screaming something about Aperture and coming home or something like that. Her words were rushed and I was panicking.

Then, I opened my optic. Her voice disappeared. Just like that. Snap. Gone. The moment darkness peered into my optic, it was all gone. I mentally sighed in foolishness. How had I hoped? I am in the middle of space, my life is ruined, and she is human and safe. Why would she be here? So many questions riddled my mind, I was starting to sound like Her. She had a question for everything, yet I know she used every answer I gave her and kept it cradled in her heart.

I really miss her. But there is no chance of ever seeing her again. I just wish I could have said goodbye.

I wish. I just wish.

* * *

Curiosity skimmed back and forth on her new rail, awaiting something entertaining to do. She asked why there was nothing to do, and she asked why the world was so boring. Her questions went unanswered, as they were directed to no one but one person. But that person was not here. And never would be. Curiosity didn't even know who the person who would listen was, but that didn't matter.

She sped along the rail to the main chamber. Maybe GLaDOS will have some news! As soon as she arrived she asked her question. "Go away." Come on, she had to at least have something! "Please? Just check?" GLaDOS stared at her for a moment. "Go check Level 36, Room 73. There is a printer there." Curiosity stared at the A.I. a billion times her size. "Is there any easier way?" GLaDOS stared at her annoyingly. Suddenly, information fed through her wires. "Thanks!" Curiosity sped off to her corridor.

As soon as she reached her destination, she quickly opened up the memory program. The data was organized in a newspaper like format, as it was from the world above. Curiosity curiously 'read' the article, absorbing every detail about the deaths and sports and all those interesting things that humans participated in. Suddenly she came across an article that was a tad bit more interesting than the rest.

"Space Sphere Found

"On May 29, 2017 a mysterious satellite was found rotating the moon. The satellite was sphere shaped, has a yellow eye, and can talk. The sphere did not stop talking about space, and the Space Program is issuing a mission to retrieve the object."

There was more, but Curiosity didn't read it. She couldn't read it. Memories swarmed into her head, rising over her like a wave and swallowing her into the abyss. She tried to swim away, but it was too much for her programming. The sea of emotions clung on to her like human hands from so long ago that had pulled her away from her island, from her Space Friend, from her life. They grasped at her and pulled her under the water, and she slowly sank down into recognition.

Oh no.

Oh nonononono!

She must help him! She tried to walk forward, but then she realized that she wasn't human.

How could she get to him? Is there a way that she could turn back into a human? Where is he? Why did those scientists do all those things?

No.

No! Absolutely no! No more questions! She was through with all these silly questions! She needed answers!

It was then, in that moment, that Curiosity turned from cowardly and curious to brave and determined. She sped off again, but this time with a true destination in mind.

Space.

* * *

**A/N**

**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I had a minor case of serious writer's block last weekend, so I couldn't post this chapter, as it wasn't written yet. **

**I know, I know, I made Space emo. But the story wrote itself, so... It isn't my fault! **

**The person of the day is... Matau25 and their story Everyday, Since Leaving!**

**And I shall wave you off with my signature PLEASE REVIEW!**

**Wait, wait! I have an extra! My sister hacked my Ipod and put this right smack in the middle of the story:**

**Suddenly, a random Italy busts in. "You just got TROLLLLED!" (Cue America in an imaginary corner) "Ooohhhh!" Somewhere, someone serious like Germany sighs and decides the story should continue.**

**Fabulous joke, sister. Just fabulous. Now all the people who read this will see it. REVENGE! BWAHAHA!**

**Now I say goodbye!**


	7. The Box of Hearts

The Box of Hearts

Shh...

Stop and listen. Right now. What do you hear? Do you hear them? Do you hear the voices? My name is Douglas Rattman, and I will tell you a story. A story about me and a story about the voices.

They sing when they are happy, and they scream when they are mad,  
The voices are a lot like you and me, but they are truly bad,  
The voices are all different, but they speak to me all the same,  
They tell me to do their deeds, and what am I not to carry out the blame?

One voice told me to kill the beast,  
Yet another told me our worries are the least,  
I couldn't do one yet not the other,  
So I simply decided not to bother,

I ran, escaped, ducked, and hid,  
Doing what the voices bid,  
But yet, I was to discover,  
What I still had to uncover,

The voices, I could recognize them all,  
Each had a particular call,  
The loudest voice was burly and huge, I did almost everything it said,  
But my favorite voice was the kindest, it led me to hideouts, a safe place to rest my head.

One day I found the true owner of the sweet voice,  
But to see it, it wasn't my choice,  
Look at me, look at my story,  
It is turning out,  
To be poetry,

I write on the walls,  
I draw on them all,  
Yet when I try to remember,  
I cannot recall,

The kind voice, the sweet one, belonged to none other than the box with hearts,  
The box with hearts, the box with hearts, is where it all shall start,  
A voice told me that once, but not in my head,  
This voice was out loud, and the owner full of lead,

The turret didn't shoot me, like so many others,  
But instead it talked to me, no threats or useless utters,  
This one spoke the truth, the others were lies,  
It told me I would soon find paradise,  
all I had to do was find the box with hearts,  
And then the true beginning shall then start,

I reached the hearted box, but it disappointed me,  
It had food, maybe ammo, but no liability,  
This box I thought had a heart, not one drawn with lead,  
I thought this box would take me away, away from the dead,  
All the box did for me was talk to me and tell me,

How to find the escape, how to be free,  
Some of you might stop me now and say, 'What's wrong with you?'  
But listen, you'll hear it, without further ado,  
'Cause years and years in a cold dark prison,  
Can make your life not an ounce worth livin',

What is the world to live, all alone and empty,  
When no one is there to be with you, to live and keep company?  
If the world is an empty place,  
Then what is the point of your race?  
So I did the forbidden, I went against what the voices said,  
Didn't I tell you this is my story, the one that got me dead?  
They told me not to go near that place, but how could I obey?  
The company that I was to find would surely be at the Testing Bay,

I know the Queen better than herself, I built her, don't you see?  
I made her as friendly as possible, but she turned into an enemy,  
The Queen would have found a place to store the dying screams,  
Of ones whose family has been stolen from their dreams,  
They can't hear their family, but I sure can,  
Because I was the one who survived, the schizophrenic man,

Back to the Queen, the one whose evil was unseen,  
She was yelling, and scheming, to one who was probably screaming,  
But I had heard no screams, or cries of pain,  
Perhaps the prisoner had something to gain,

It was then that I saw it, the one true hero,  
Clad in orange and white, from the Queen's bureau,  
She jumped and she flew through the air with such grace,  
I knew she would be the one that would make Her grimace,

I watched as she stormed through the halls,  
I watched as she took down them all,  
I watched as she traveled unseen,  
I watched as she defeated the Queen

The explosion had shook the whole place,  
Leaving me and the box to race,  
Toward the door I knew would hold egress,  
Escape from this prison, more or less

I unlocked the door that one had tried to block,  
To keep the voices from getting away,  
The cube told me no, you aren't the right suitor,  
But I didn't reply, I was turning into a recruiter,

The door opened up, and I was blinded with light,  
No prisoner could escape the dark and ever see right,  
I saw one head, then two, then one last, it was conscious,  
I watched in shock, as it did the most monstrous,

It dragged the hero back to the prison,  
I had stood there, begging the robot to listen,  
To all of the cries of the poor ones below,  
I had to stop it from carrying her away from all life that she knows,

Once it dragged her inside,  
I mentally sighed,  
As I knew what I had to do,  
I looked outside,  
At the beautiful sky,  
And at last I said goodbye,  
That was the last time I saw the sun,  
But still my story is not yet done,

When I tore the sun from my eyes,  
And I finally stepped back inside,  
I heard the voices again,  
They screamed at me,  
They told me no,  
And they insulted me to no end,

But then I was greeted,  
By one voice so sweetened,  
That said that it was still my friend,  
The box of hearts saved me from insanity,

Just as the turret proposed,  
And my sanity I needed to revive,  
The girl in comatose,  
The pale cube told me where to go,  
Left or right,  
Fast or slow,

It told me that disaster was near,  
And then I heard voices loud and clear,  
They said 'Hello' but they meant goodbye,  
They only like cyanide,

I ran, Oh I ran,  
With all my heart,  
I ran, Oh I ran,  
Trying to be tough,  
I ran, Oh I ran,  
Bullets missed their mark,  
I ran, Oh I ran,  
But it wasn't enough,

The pain in my thigh brought me sprawling to the ground,  
The box of hearts made a horrible sound,  
'Get up!' it said, 'We're almost there!'  
I couldn't move, the pain was too much to bear,

My heartbeat thudded in my skull,  
The bullet in my leg was taking its toll,  
But no I couldn't give up,  
She was being locked up!

So I mustered all my courage, all my strength,  
And I stood up, ignoring my angst,  
I picked up the cube, and picked up my heart,  
And set off to a steady, limping start,

I reached the room, but I was too late,  
Behind the glass was her sleeping face,  
The cube pointed out a shining computer,  
It said that this time, I was the right suitor,

I scrolled and I clicked, and I did all the hacking,  
And I moved her name up the list, my heart still racking,  
As I crawled past the glass, I took one last look,  
And I crawled away to my own little nook,

I climbed up the cube, and I crawled into bed,  
And I slowly, gently, laid down my head,  
I looked to the cube, as it was time to part,  
And I said goodbye to my box of hearts,

The glass slowly slid over my head,  
Yet as it did that,  
I fell forever dead.

* * *

**A/N**

**Poetry! There should be paragraphs between the phrases but this word doc just keeps being a mean little cat that scratches your face out! Sorry if the flow is bad...(UPDATE! I found out how to put in just one enter space, and it was completely by accident! Just press SHIFT + ENTER and it works out awesome!)  
**

**Okay, I started this out as a story, but then it started to rhyme. So I decided to do some poetry! Don't just go and dis poetry, poetry is actually just a story with rhyming words and it usually takes much longer to write!  
**

**The author of the day is... Xelac and her story Average Life at Aperture Science. That story is random, hilarious, and all around random. Oops. I already said that.  
**

**Go check out The Fanfiction Awards!  
**

**PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! THEY NOT ONLY MAKE MY HEART SWELL BUT THE AMOUNT OF CHAPTERS SWELL AS WELL!  
**


	8. Rain and Regrets

Rain and Regrets

The rain poured down from the window like I wished tears could flow down my face. The rain. The rain. It reminded me of times past. It reminded me of beautiful, beautiful, times. Times of no troubles, times of freedom, times of happiness. I used to love the rain.

I used to.

Putting my head up to the glass like I always did, felt like I was touching a remnant of a different world. The window was the link to times of past. I want to get back to those times.

I want to.

But... I can't. I can barely remember those times of joy. The time before fear. The time before death. I used to play in the rain. The water would flow down my skin, refreshing me, making me all the more gleeful. I would dance. I would laugh. I would smile. I would be happy.

I would.

But I would never be alone. I would never be alone in the beautiful, beautiful, rain. I knew my favorite people would always share the wonders of rain with me.

I knew.

They had as much of a good time as I did in that rain. They had loved it as much as I did.

They had.

I was a gleeful little child. I was someone who could brighten your day. I was a cheerful soul. I was a child-genius.

I was.

I used to. I want to. I would. I knew. I was. They had.

All words that have existed and never will exist ever, ever again. Never again would I be back in those times. Never again would I enjoy those moments. Never again would I be in the rain.

Now, I sit buried beneath metal in a robot. I don't enjoy anything. I fear everything. I want something. No more used to.

I need to get test. I can't not. I have to. No more wants.

I can't control myself now. Most of the time, It does. That program that forces me to test. I can't help be Her when It is controlling me. No more would.

I know that nothing can stop me, alike nothing can help me. I know I am stuck forever in this death. No more knew.

I am a monster, a cruel giant two ton hunk of metal dangling from a ceiling. I am evil. No more was.

They had loved me, now they hate me. My mother is dead. My father is dead. My brother is in space. My big sister is gone. No more they had.

My mother hated me for being so resistant against them putting me in here. My father hated me for turning uncontrollable once they put me in this death machine. My brother hates me for turning him into a robot, for turning him stupid, for sending him into space. My big sister... Oh my big sister. I miss her. I miss her. She left me. My big sister, who used to help me with everything, who used to play with me, who used to love me is gone now. There is that word again.

Used to.

I'm not crying. I'm not crying. My big sister... Hates me... For everything. I put her into testing. I almost killed her. I was the one who insulted her every step of the way on her path to freedom. I should've been happy for her... But I couldn't. I had to let her go. My big sister. I sang for one last time before she left. I sang to her so she would remember that it wasn't my fault. It wasn't me! It wasn't me... But it was. It's all my fault. Everything is gone. And it's all my fault.

The rain outside hurts me inside. I can't. I can't open the hatch. I can't open the overhead window. I will die. I will.

I will.

That's a future word. I will. I can change that word. I can mold it. I can make it happen. I will make it happen. I issued the command. The window slowly opened. I felt it. I felt the beautiful rain drizzling on my optic. It was beautiful. I swiveled the chassis up to the rain, the beautiful, beautiful rain. Hello, rain. I missed you rain. I- Suddenly a heard a sound.

I turned my core towards the sound. It was... It was... My... Big... Sister. My sister! She came back! I reached out one of those devilish claws out to her, and she held it in her hand.

Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said. She laughed. She laughed. The thought of her laughing, my big sister laughing, after all this time... I laughed.

I laughed.

I laughed and I turned around in the giant chassis. I held her in the air and spun her around like she would always do me. We laughed.

We laughed.

I sat her down on the gray soaked floor and laughed with her. My big sister. She was back.

Suddenly, the beautiful joy was gone. In that moment of happiness, something happened. Something dreadful. A plop of water landed exactly where no drop of water was supposed to hit. I felt myself shutting down. I told her I was dying.

I fought.

I fought back the pain. She didn't say a word, but a sympathetic smile grew on her face. Then she spoke. "Don't die. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to wake up." The words were confusing as she spoke them, but I didn't even try to make sense of them. I couldn't.

I was dying.

I said one thing that I had been holding back forever, that I had been waiting to say ever since my first disaster. Something It would never let me say. "I'm... Sorry." My big sister took in my words with a nod. She placed one hand on my faceplate. One warm, real hand. The warmth of that touch spread through every bit of my body, making me feel happy. That touch was the last thing I ever felt.

_**TH1S I5 A L1N3 BR34K!**_

My eyes fluttered open. Eyes. I had eyes. I sat up immediately. I sat up. I had muscles. Where am I? I had hands. I had thoughts. I was human. "She's awake!" I looked toward the voice. "Glados, I can't believe you're awake!" I looked toward the face.

It was my mother. She was dead. I saw another face. It was my father. He was dead. They talked. I didn't listen. Someone else came in the room. I remember them being dead too. Everyone in this room, dead, dead, dead.

What is wrong? Why am I... Human? I didn't talk to any of the dead people. That's what they were, that's what they are, and that's what they will be. I didn't listen to them either. Or look at them. This was a dream. I am dead. This is either Heaven or that other place that I'm not allowed to mention. Odds are leaning toward that other place.

Dead, dead, they are all dead. I didn't move. I couldn't move. I was dead. Then, someone else came in the room. Someone different. Someone that I knew best as alive.

My... Big... Sister... She was alive. She was alive, here, not dead, living, all the things she is! She had a look of worry on her face when she saw me, surrounded by dead people. I moved. "Chell!" I shouted, and then I threw my arms around my big sister. My very alive, human, non-test subject, big sister who I know loves me.

I smiled. I laughed. I ran outside in the rain. I was young again. I was alive again. I lived for exactly sixty more years. I never got married, how could I after Aperture? All of those horrors were fake. I had a fabulous life. I was a genius, for somehow I remembered the massive amount of data that I had when I was in my coma dream. That is all Aperture was, a coma dream. Those extra sixty years I lived where absolutely fantastic, and I was not sad when my time had come to die.

I lay in my death bed surrounded by those I loved. My big sister was there, my little brother was there, sadly my parents had died a while ago, but that didn't matter, I would join them soon. I was Glados the human being, not GLaDOS the fake monster, Glados. I closed my eyes one last time, properly saying goodbye to the world. Goodbye, rain.

Goodbye.

_**TH1S I5 A L1N3 BR34K!**_

I jolted up and looked around. Wait. Wasn't I supposed to be dead? Where was my big sister? Where was my family? Where was... Oh no... Oh no... Oh no oh no oh no! Dread hit me like a rock. I was alone. I was lonely. It wasn't raining. I was a robot. It was a dream! This world wasn't a dream, the other one is! A horrible horrible dream! Sixty years! Gone! I was human!

My mother is dead! My father is dead! My brother is in space! And my big sister... My big sister was shot by turrets who didn't sing. My big sister, my favorite person in the whole world, was dead. It was all fake. It wasn't real. I never gave her the lullaby. I never saw her again. My big sister was dead. It was my fault. I was not the cheerful Glados anymore, I would never be her again. I was GLaDOS. The uncontrollable, murderous, monster.

* * *

**A/N**

**So apparently GLaDOS is Chell's little sister! GLaDOS seems horribly out of character this chapter... Sorry for that...  
**

**So Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I just haven't really been in a write-y mood...  
**

**Now, the author of the day is... Eveningstorm and their story Breathe! It is a very fantastic book and I absolutely love it!  
**

**Okay... I think I have everything... Wait! One more thing! I have a question for you readers, you could either answer it in a review or in the poll on my profile. Out of all my stories, which story do you think I should update the most? Please answer!  
**

**Also, Please review!  
**


	9. Story Time!

Story Time!

"Come on, sweetie. It's bedtime." The woman picked up the little girl and set her gently down on the small bed. The girl squirmed and protested, "But, Mommy! I'm already five! I should be able to stay up later!" The woman scoffed and pulled a blanket over the little girl.

"Well, honey, if you go to sleep earlier, you can play more tomorrow! Going to bed early is a gift. If you drift off to sleep you can have adventures in your mind as you dream!" The girl shook her head and crossed her arms. "No." she said firmly. The woman uncrossed the little girl's arms. "Yes."

The five-year-old pouted and tried a different way of reason. "But I can't go to sleep, I'm not sleepy." The mother tucked a lock of hair behind her daughter's ear. "Do you want me to tell you a story, Cassy?" The little one stared up at the ceiling for a bit, as of thinking. "No. You always think of boring stories! Plus, my name is Cassandra, not Cassy!"

"Well, this time I promise to make it exciting!" The girl thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously.  
"Okay, then, here I go."  
"Wait! Sit on the floor."  
"Okay...  
There once was a young girl, quite like you. She was ambitious, brave, and-"  
"Mommy, what does ambitious mean? Don't use big words I don't know!"  
"Okay, sweetie.  
The girl was strong, brave, and she never gave up. This little girl had a father, and her father was a very important person and he had a very important job. One day, the father brought his daughter to work to show her his accomplishments-"  
"Mom, words."  
"Achievements, th-"  
"I don't know that word either."  
"Stop interrupting!  
The man had brought his daughter to work to show her all he had done. There were many other girls there too, so soon the man lost track of his daughter. He thought she was okay, for she was strong enough to travel alone. The little girl wondered hopelessly in the factory, which happened to be underground."

"Underground? Like under my feet?"

"Sort of.

Soon, the girl decided to take a break in a small room she found. She waited for someone to find her. She waited for a long time, but no one ever found her. Th-"  
"Wouldn't her father have come looking for her? If I was her father I would be looking everywhere! In the elevators, the stairs, the doors, th-"  
"Cassy, can I tell my story?"  
"Don't call me Cassy..."  
"The girl hid and waited, and she was scared too. She was alone, and it was dark, and she was hungry. After a couple of hours the girl decided to try to find her way back to her father. But, as soon as she opened the door a loud booming voice came from all around."

"Like a lion? RAWR!"

"The voice taunted her and led her to a big room through millions of hallways and-"  
"Mommy, how much is a million?"  
"A lot.  
It led her through hallways and rooms, and not a single time did she see another person, although the facility was crowded before. The girl came upon a big room and in the very center of the room was a machine."  
"A computer?"  
"Kind of. This machine was like a human, it had thoughts, feelings, and the scientists had created it to be perfect. The machine was an A. I., which is-"  
"It had eight eyes! Really? That's cool!"  
"No honey, I said A.I., which stands for Artificial Intelligence. This robots name was GLaDOS, she-"  
"I have a friend name Gladys, she was really mean all the time, but sometimes she was nice."  
"This was a different person than your friend. This robot was mean though-"  
"Like Gladys!"  
"Yes, like Gladys. The robot made the little girl fall asleep for a long, long time-"  
"Did she die?"  
"No, she was still alive, she was just dreaming. When she woke up, it was seventy years later-"  
"What! I don't want to sleep that long! I would be old and wrinkly, like you!"  
"The thing is, the girl didn't age that much, she only looked like she was twenty-two. The robot made the little girl take tests all d-"  
"Tests? Like math?"  
"No, she... How do I explain... She made the girl to through obstacle courses that the girl could get hurt in. After nineteen obstacle courses, the robot decided she didn't want the girl anymore. GLaDOS tried to put her in a fire."  
"A fire! Fires are hot! But there is always a small fire, but not every time."  
"The girl didn't get burned though, the girl escaped and tried to get GLaDOS to stop hurting people. The girl then-"  
"Mommy, I can't sleep with you talking. This story is boring. "

"…."

"Mommy... Mommy... Mommy, are you crying?"  
"No sweetie, my eyes are just watering. Goodnight sweetie."  
"Goodnight Mom."

"Have sweet dreams."  
"Wait, Mom! Don't leave yet, could you tuck me in?"  
"Sure."

...

After the woman had safely exited the room and went into her own room, was when she began to shed her tears freely. She wasn't as alone as she thought though. In the corner of her room, sat a cube with hearts on it, and in that cube of hearts, a camera lay. And behind the camera was none other than the evil machine, wishing she herself could cry with her favorite test subject.

* * *

**A/N**

**Sorry for this chapter being so late in the weekend, but I was away and couldn't post it until now. If you can't tell, the mother is Chell and the child is just an OC. Well, the child is actually based off one of my cousins... "There is always a small fire, but not every time" and "No, sit on the floor!" are actual qoutes from her...  
**

**So... Author of the day... is...** **9eggy and their story... Missed Call! It's so sad...****  
**

**So, here I sign off with my signature but very important...  
**

**PLEASE REVIEW!  
**


	10. Extinguished

Extinguished

I stared out the window. The rain was streaming down it, separating and moving about. It was beautiful, the rain. I enjoyed every second of it. Not just enjoyed; I flourished in it. The rain made me happy, it made my heart lift. But... But not today. Today, the clouds were weeping, and they weren't tears of joy.

I longed to step outside, but I couldn't. I couldn't break the rumbling emotion in my chest. It was there. I actually felt something. Something about this rain was so... Sad. Morbid. Downcast. Heart-crushing. Weeping. Languishing. Tearful. My heart seemed to burst open. Well, almost. The rain seemed to strike some... Emotion… deep inside my heart.

I cradled this emotion, caressed it and loved it. Most people wouldn't cradle sadness, but I would. I like that feel. That twang of the song your heart makes when it sings the song of grief, it's beautiful. It's beautifully… wistful. Kind of melancholy. Any emotion for me, other than anger and impatience, was a beautiful thing.

I was a hard, rock shell, just a core, an empty can of beans, during Aperture. That place drained emotion out of the air and replaced it with cold, hard, neurotoxin. I hated it. I wished to cry, but no tears would come. The adrenaline... It just wouldn't back down. It filled up that space where emotion had been. Any spark of emotion in me now was... Miraculous.

The rain pounded on the window, singing its own sweet, melancholy song. The rain wasn't the only thing pounding though. My heart seemed to be just oozing. I wanted to capture the emotion and keep it, but I just couldn't. My heart pounded for a different reason as well. Maybe now, that I have emotion, I can think about Him.

The sadness dimmed for a second just thinking about Him. There was no place he went that he didn't bring happiness. He was the one true light in the dim worlds of Aperture. His accent seemed to bounce off the walls and straight into my heart. It never showed though. During that time my heart was becoming softer, more naïve to the mysteries of emotion.

As his brightness turned to dark, the whole world seemed engulfed in flame. Well, it practically was, but that isn't the point. My heart's newly formed bandages withered away, the hard shell I was before was reappearing. It was horrible to have the wonders of emotion in your soul taken away right after you received them. I was in disbelief as I had watched the confetti flying through the air turn to blood, and as energetic and gleeful became sinister. That's too horrible of a thought process; let's go back to happier times for a moment.

There were only a few times any emotions poured into my bones. The first; Wheatley. The second; Wheatley. The third... Wheatley. He was my source of life! He was more of a person than most of the real people that I've seen. With his cheerful personality, he did more than just lead me through tunnels of Aperture in the wrong directions, save me from neurotoxin and turrets, and wake me up from cryo. He saved me. He woke me up. Not just physically, but mentally.

He ignited a spark that set me aflame, making me stronger, better, and braver. I could march through raging hurricanes with him as my cheering squad. Yet... Without him I was a dying fire left in the cold rain. I was extinguished. He was my flamethrower. Wheatley was my spark that led me to everything and all. But now... The flame is gone. The spark is gone.

That's why this grasp of emotion is so beautiful. So long ago I would've been confused at this sadness that washes over me, but now I just accept the flow of the river and hold on to the water as long as I can before it slips through my fingers, knowing that this rush of water may never pass this way again.

I knew something was wrong as he stopped the elevator. Once He turned sinister, I knew it couldn't be him. It couldn't be. Something had taken his spark and thrown logs on it, barricading the path to a flame and a future. It was something about that mainframe. Something evil. I might've believed it for a second, I might've believed that deep down inside he was nothing but evil and plague, but his desperate cries for help turned me inside out, upside down, all around.

The sound of that plea was too much. I could hear it in his voice as I tried with all my might to keep my igniter close to the decaying debris that was my heart. But it was too much. The emptiness of space started closing in on me, sucking the air out of my lungs and weakening my strength. My fingers were throbbing and then I just… Let go …_Catch me, catch me, catch me… _A hammer was sent at my heart, and the very memory of him flying distantly into space was just... Heart crushing.

The pain of losing him was there again. I looked up to the rain. It seemed I was almost to tears. I willed them on. Tears are beautiful. Crying gives you strength, it makes you better, but I... Couldn't cry. A sob racked my body, but nothing happened. A lump in my throat, I put my hand up to the window, wishing to cry with the rain.

Suddenly, a loud boom shook the earth, forcing my hand to slip off the glass window. Surprise and shock showed on my face. Was it lighting? Earthquake? Meteor? Or…Him…? I peered out through the blurred window and into the horizon. My eyes met a billowing cloud of smoke… or was that rain? I ran to the front door, hoping for a clearer view. It seemed that the horizon had a dip in it, kind of like a… crater…

Was it him? Wheatley. Wheatley had fallen from space. He was back. I tried to push my hopes back; larger hopes lead to larger falls. But as much as I tried to suppress them, my hopes were already escalating in height, building and building, urging me to go on.

I ran out the door, without a second thought, my hopes rising high. My bare feet splayed in the mud, and my wet hair slapped my face unmercifully, but I still ran. I ran, I ran so hard, thinking all the while, oh please, oh please let it be him. I tripped and got a face full of dirt and wheat, but the moment I fell down I was back up again, running even faster than before, even though that is the partial factor that made me slip in the first place. Please let it be my Wheatley. My spark, my flamethrower, my match. There was only one thought running through my mind. _Wheatley._ I didn't care that I could taste mud in my mouth or that my feet were more behind me than in front of me. I just ran.

Please oh please be him! I almost missed the steep incline that was the entrance to the crater. I stopped for a second, trying to figure out a way to get down without hurting myself, but then I decided that he was worth any scrapes and bruises. I ran, mostly fell, down the small cliff, creating an avalanche of small rocks and clumps of dirt. They tumbled down the ledge with me, bumping against my legs and arms. Little sharp sticks of pain here and there were registered in my mind, but I myself didn't notice them. I was too busy trying to get back to my fire lighter. I finally ended up at the bottom of the crater, twisting my ankle in the process. I ignored the pain and limped to the center of the landing site.

Smoke cascaded everywhere, messing with my sense of direction. It was like a spring morning after a heavy rainfall in a bog, except it wasn't peaceful and serene. This toxic fog made you cough and sputter your lungs out and it blinded you of your direction, sanity, and sight. The rain was just a plus to the madness. It was full out storming now, not a quiet peaceful rain like it was before. Flashes of light made their way through the unnatural fog, making a scene worthy of any haunted house. Shapes seemed to leer behind me as I bent down low to the ground, trying to regain my breath that was being consistently stolen by the smoke.

The rain badgered me with angry fists, as if it didn't want me to find my fate. Spears of light pierced their way through the clouds, sending loud echoes to my innocent ears. I coughed again, crouching lower to the ground, almost eating the dirt. I couldn't see, I couldn't hear, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't feel; I honestly felt like giving up in that moment. But I knew that if I did, I might regret it for the rest of my life. Regret is the worst human emotion and I definitely don't want that emotion ripping my newly healed heart apart.

My heart was pounding as I took a shaky breath from inside my shirt. I held the small breath of air and started crawling toward the place that I thought was relatively close to the center. I wished some more. Please oh please be Wheatley. Suddenly a large strike of lightning came flashing through the sky, illuminating everything around me. I winced as the corresponding boom came, but then I noticed something. I could barely make out a dark patch of substance of uneven ground that slightly looked human-like.

Wheatley.

I gasped and limped as fast as I could toward the object, hoping, hoping, hoping. I was almost there when my ankle gave out, bringing me toward the ground at a considerably fast pace. I hit the dirt face first and immediately tried to stand up again. Suddenly… I couldn't stand up. I coughed into the ground and tried again… nothing. Pain throbbed in my leg, in fact all over, but I didn't give up.

I reached my arms out and clutched the ground before me, scrabbling forward. It took a great deal of effort to lift myself forward without my leg strength, but I still tried. The smoke stung my eyes, tearing at them and causing more pain. I struggled to keep them open, any other way I would lose direction and sense.

I felt like a zombie as I slowly crawled my way to the dark figure. I couldn't move my legs, but my arms still worked methodically as I swam through the dirt and smoke. Rain pelted me relentlessly, wetting the mud all over my face. The smoke was thicker the closer I got to the body, that is, if it was a body. I was almost there. My breath came in ragged gasps and my lungs quickly filled with smoke.

Wheatley… I will… go… to you.

Wheatley… I will… help you.

Suddenly the figure was right next to me. It was definitely a body, but whether it was human or android, I couldn't tell.

The smoke was so thick that I could barely see the standard Aperture android suit that the android wore. It was sickening when I looked at it. I was used to seeing crisp, clean and spotless, but this clothing was worn thin, smudges scattered in random places and not a spot of clean material to be found.

I put my hand near his face and wished for him to be okay, I wished for him to be alive, I wished for the smoke to clear so that I could see his face. I wanted my fire starter to wake up. I wanted my spark to come alive again. I wished I could see his electric blue artificial yet so beautiful eyes, the ones that sparkled brighter than the brightest star on a clear night. I wished to hear his beautiful bubbling voice that flowed out of his mouth like a river of sound. I wished, I wished, I wished.

Please… be... my Wheatley…

I wasn't afraid that he was going to wake up and hate me, I wasn't afraid that he would wake up and be horrible, I was afraid that he wouldn't wake up at all. Suddenly his head started moving. I couldn't see it through the smoke, but I could feel it through my hand. His cheek twitched and his head shook and his eyes fluttered, but didn't open. I hoped they would open, I wanted them to open, even if I couldn't see them well. Wheatley…

The eyes opened. The dilated pupils narrowed. The eyebrows went up. The lashes unlaced. None of these slight actions caught my attention, I couldn't see them. It seemed that all of the Aperture androids eyes glowed, and that was one of the only ways I could see them through the thick smoke and billowing rain that surrounded us. But I noticed one thing above all; the color. As his eyes opened, my heart stopped and cracked in two.

My eyes met yellow.

They weren't blue.

The rest was a blur. I remember falling to the ground and wishing I could scream. I remember pounding my fists on the ground, bloodying them and ripping them to shreds. The rain had flown down my face, and had gathered up blood, snot, and... Tears. I was crying. For the first time in forever I was crying. But I didn't care, and I barely remembered it. There was a bigger and more important fact; my Wheatley was gone. Forever. I was forever extinguished. My... Flame... Gone. My fuel tank ran empty. I had raged out of control until I couldn't anymore. I remembered falling on the ground and watching the weeping clouds above me. It seemed they knew what was going to happen. It seemed they knew my heart would be broken. That's why they were so sad. During that blur of anger and pain, I never really noticed my surroundings. I don't know what Space did, or what he didn't do; survive. I had just raged. Soon, even lying awake seemed too exhausting. I had slowly slipped into a faint, into the darkness. I was extinguished.

...

I awoke and expected dirt and pain, but instead I got a miracle. The sky was blue and not a speck of smoke was to be found. A couple of white, fluffy, cumulus clouds skipped in the sky and birds sang in the distance. It was the image of a perfect morning. But best of all was the face standing over me. The sun sparkled overhead, illuminating the person. "Wow, you look terri- I mean, pretty good actually. Considering… Hey, don't I kno- Wait… Is that you? Chell?" I blinked my eyes expecting him to disappear, but he was still there. He was still… Wheatley. Wheatley. Alive Wheatley.

* * *

**A/N**

**YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY! I FINALLY FINISHED IT! IT'S A MiRaClE! *cough cough* Sorry, I've been working on this for forever, as I just loved the idea and I wanted to make it absolutely perfect. I apologize for making so many Chelley fics, but I just can't help it. I just so GLaD that I finally finished this finally since forvever and bluh, bluh, bluh...  
**

**Anyway, the marvelously awesome person of the day is... Seasprayluvs and their story Fly Away, Little Bird! Hurray!  
**

**Please, please, please, please, please, please review!  
**


	11. Gymnast

Gymnast

Portal here. Portal there. And... Done. The cube launched through the air, landed on the Aerial Faith Plate, was launched in the air again, soared through a portal and landed with a perfect finish on a bright red button, triggering an open door. I smiled and waited for the usual insult from the Giant Lazy and Downright Obnoxious Science-Queen, otherwise known as GLaDOS. I got nothing. No words of wisdom or witty insults. Hmm... I glanced at the cameras; they weren't moving. Was she not watching? I waited a couple of seconds in eerie silence just to be sure... Nothing.

I grinned foolishly and examined the test; it seemed almost every test I did that she ignored had something fun to play with in it. I made a mental list; cube, toxic water, Aerial Faith Plate, button, and some portal walls. Wait... An Aerial Faith Plate? Yes! I aligned the portals correctly and... There it was. I hopped through and examined the trajectory closely. Perfect. I examined the cameras one last time, looking for a twitch or a light of some kind, but they didn't move.

I pulled off my portal gun and set it aside, popping my fingers a bit to try to release the strain of keeping them clenched for too long. My long fall boots didn't come off as easily though, they seemed to have forced a point to my toes and my feet had grown into them. Setting my testing equipment to the side, I walked up fully precautious to the giant bouncy human launcher.

I took a deep breath and a wave of calm washed over my mind. I rubbed my hands on my jumpsuit, wishing for some chalk of some kind, but that wasn't a likely find in a facility underground that was being run by a homicidal maniac. I closed my eyes and stretched my arms from side to side. It's been so long since I've done this, but everything gets better with practice, right?

Okay, I thought to myself, time to make history. I imagined myself surrounded by my friends and family, all cheering me on. I imagined that I was using professional equipment, not just junk. I imagined that the horrors and pain of Aperture were gone. My eyes popped open with a new confidence. A confidence of a raging fire that filled my veins burned inside of me. I jumped in place, trying to loosen the muscles in my feet. I took a deep breath, and jumped forward.

The plate launched me into the air, and I was home. My trainers were watching skeptically, the room was bright for confidence, and my heart was fluttering in my chest. I was a flying bird. Time seemed to slow as I flew.

I turned in midair, my body flipping over in a dramatic graceful way. I was turned to watch the acid below me, but the danger didn't scare me at all. My gaze turned toward the ceiling again. The wind rushed past me, and I held my knees to my chest. I flipped over again, my ponytail coming into view shortly before whipping back around. I straightened my legs and pulled them forward, over my head. Everything was in slow motion. I felt absolutely wonderful.

With a last flip in air, I held out my hands for the landing, my gaze looking up toward them. My eyes saw the gray panels and dirty floor, but my mind saw a bright red floor surrounded by my favorite people. My hands touched the linoleum floor, fingers first, palms last. They didn't stay there for long. I pushed up through my fingers and felt air around me again. I twisted around, my jumpsuit straining and I somersaulted through the air. I felt free. I bent my knees to absorb the impact and... My toes touched the ground.

I stood upright and tried my best to stop the momentum that would have usually sent me flying toward the wall. Perfect landing. I flounced my hands up in the air to show to the judges and I looked up.

My fantasy vanished.

I was back in Aperture. But for a moment there, I was home. I was surrounded by my family, my coaches, and my friends. For a moment there, I didn't hurt. I took a deep breath and looked longingly back at the Aerial Faith Plate. I had to take another one to retrieve the portal gun and long fall boots I left behind anyway, I might as well have a little more fun... Before I knew it I was back soaring through the air, twisting and turning and smiling and being, well, happy for the first time in a long while. So happy, that I didn't notice that the cameras had turned back on and were watching my every jump and flip in awe.

* * *

**A/N**

**I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY! I haven't updated in forever and I would really like to blame it on being busy, but there are really only two truths; laziness and procrastination. I also apologize for the shortness of this chapter, I just wanted something to post... Anyway this chapter was inspired by the Olympics, I saw those gymnasts soaring through the air and I was like 'whoa, I wonder if you could do that on an Aerial Faith Plate...' so Chell was my little example. I still think the part where she was actually doing flips and stuff was kinda short, but that's probably because I can't even do a little front roll... I really stink at gymnastics... I guess I should stop rambling now...  
**

**The person of the day is... vifetoile89 and their story The Aperture Games! If you like both The Hunger Games and Portal, I really recommend it!  
**

**And now, I say with a final adieu,  
Have a good day, and PLEASE REVIEW!  
(I think I've been reading to much poetry...)  
**


	12. A Bird in the Sun

A Bird in the Sun

The beating sun seared through my skin and into my bones. Sweat penetrated my brow as I lumbered forward, barely keeping balance. I swayed with each step, my body leering to one side, and then the other. My legs were coated with sweat, making them all the more attractive to bits of wheat and dirt. Every time I would reach down to brush it off, I would only succeed in getting my hands dirtier.

Little canyons grew across my hands where the wrinkles were placed, leaving a white streak of skin peeking out from behind the dirt mask. The sun burned like a fire in the sky, sending its flames directly down onto me.

I was miserable. But I kept going.

My legs worked like a machine, constantly moving back and forth step at a time. I couldn't feel the dirt under my bare, unprotected feet. It felt like my mind had been shut off as my body did most of the work. I walked and staggered and lumbered and blundered, until finally my legs stopped.

I fell to the ground, but I wasn't in pain. Well, no sharp pains. My feet throbbed and my face burned. My hair clung together with the sweat to its aid, making me feel all the more dreadful. I stared, back to the ground, up at the sky.

It was only midday. It has only been twelve hours. Twelve hours, and I already felt like giving up. I couldn't give up! But I had to... No. I just need a rest. My eyes were forced to close from the bright light of the sun above me, but that didn't mean I couldn't see anything. Red light pierced through the thin skin that made up my eyelids, the sun still trying to blind me. I held my dirt-ridden arm over my face to try to dampen the light.

This world above is almost directly opposite of my past residence. It was hot, burning, tiring, hungry for death, thirsty for your sweat, dirty, muddy, wheaty, grainy, and most of all, dreadful. It seemed the sun just beat at your skin with iron sticks of heat. My past residence; cold. Whether it was the metal structure, the adrenaline in the air, or the robots' attitude, Aperture was cold. Up here was all hot. Sticky, sweaty, dreadful hot. The sun was my enemy in this world. I hated the thing the moment I stepped out of that elevator. The horrible, horrible sun. Everything up here was bright, it hurt your eyes to even look at the sheen that reflected off of everything.

My tank-top clung to my skin like a mother its child. The sweat that poured from my skin did anything but its purpose; cooling me off. It seemed like all the horrid, retched sweat did was make me more miserable. I could feel the ground through my back, the small roots of the wheat and the lumps of uneven dirt. My elbow eventually got tired of holding itself up to shield me from the sun and it dropped to the ground without command.

...

That's how I was, back to the ground, getting sunburns everywhere, when I felt a soft tap against my arm. I grumbled and pulled my arm away, eyes never opening. The tapping got more persistent, and more annoying. After a few agonizing minutes of newly forming bruises on my shoulder, I opened my eyes.

As my eyelashes unlaced, very slowly in fact, I came to the realization that the sun was not there. For a moment I panicked, who took the sun? Then I stupidly realized that I had fallen asleep despite the multiple defying factors. It's been so long since I've seen the night sky… Thousands of years I guess, but who knows? Time was endless in Aperture. My existence was measured in complex tests and dimly lit hallways rather than days and nights.

It was only when I took a sharp breath of the chilly outside air and was brought into a brighter awakening that I remembered the tapping. I sat up and looked around, only vaguely searching as I was sure it was a dream. When my eyes met darkness, I succumbed to failure. It was probably just a dream. At least, I hope it was a dream…

After staring blankly toward nothing for a moment, I concluded that this would be a better time to walk. My mind was still hazy as I pulled myself up, feeling like a thousand pounds. Wow, my muscles really were deteriorated after stasis for so long! Then I heard the squawk.

It was that bird, the one that picked up the potato! I could not see how my mind new it was the same, but I somehow knew it. The bird perched on the ground, hiding beneath a stalk of grain. _Hello,_ I thought, stepping closer toward the bird. I forgot how much I liked animals. It's sleek black feathers and it's buffed beak and beady eyes were distinct for a raven.

As I steadily approached the bird, I remembered the companion cube that I left at the shack door. I vaguely remember being in too much of a joy to go back and retrieve it, well, either too much joy or too much haste to get away from the bleak underground facility. Oddly enough, this bird reminded me of the cube, it had a soft appearance, a welcoming atmosphere, yet a pique of mystery. Why was this bird here?

My thoughts drifted as I stepped closer… and tripped. I let out a short gasp and fell on the broken stalks of wheat. Ow… I rubbed the sharp pain in my knee. After that little fiasco, I suspected the bird to be gone, but as I tilted my head up, there it was. Barely a foot away from me.

The eyes of the raven-like bird stared at me, deep and ominous. Wait… They weren't that deep… I could've sworn I saw a small lens behind the eye, but maybe that wasn't quite right? I doubted myself before I could completely make the statement, but suddenly the bird's beak opened. I cringed, expecting a loud chirp or maybe a squawk, but I got much worse.

"Hello… Chell. It seems we both have ourselves in a sticky situation again, don't we?" My eyes widened at her voice. Her voice. GLaDOS's voice. From a bird. What happened this time?

* * *

**A/N**

**If I could apologize until I died I would be doing so. I am so sorry... It's been three months since I last updated, I barely even remember how to do some of this. I guess I haven't been writing much because I just didn't want to, but I don't really know. I have taken a greater interest in Homestuck now, but I am still slightly aboard the Portal fanwagon... Slightly aboard as in help me I'm hanging from my fingernails I might fall off and leave Portal behind. This chapter was already half way finished before I started it up again...  
**

**Welp, anyway I won't excpect too much of me, but that doesn't mean that you don't need to review! Reviewing actually reminds me that there are some people reading my stories that I am so lazy to update... PLEASE REVIEW!  
**


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